Coach Hansi Flick looked to the right for help, to his press spokesman Dieter Nickles, who was sitting right next to him. Could he have forgotten an important point on the program? He had actually gone through the list of absences and injuries quite accurately at this press conference before Bayern’s home game against Hoffenheim this Saturday (3:30 p.m.). He had reported that Corentin Tolisso would be missing again after muscular problems; that defender Tanguy Nianzou is still in training; And he hadn’t forgotten that substitute goalkeeper Alexander Nübel had injured his ankle ligaments during training, which is why he will now be out for three to four weeks.
But otherwise?
“What else do we have?” Nickles asked the trainer. “Exactly, sorry!”, It occurred to Flick again: “Javi and Leon have both tested positive.” He said: to the corona virus. Midfielders Martínez and Goretzka are in quarantine, Flick added. It is “a shame that it hit both of them”, after all, “everything has been clarified with the health department”.
In view of the extent of the illnesses, even if the two players have apparently so far been without symptoms of illness, it was an astonishingly casual message from the coach. Apart from the possible long-term damage that Covid-19 can also cause to athletes in their prime, the failure of Martínez and above all Goretzka means that the machine room of the FCB is humming at half its strength for the time being: For the position next to ball distributor Joshua Kimmich, stay in the defensive midfield actually only the so far little used Marc Roca as a defensive option and Jamal Musiala as a more offensive variant.
“Corona is like football. A single contact is enough to turn everything upside down,” tweeted Goretzka: “I kept to the Corona rules at all times. Still, I tested positive.” In view of the usual quarantine time in the event of an infection, Goretzka and Martínez will not only be absent on Saturday, but will also miss the game on Friday at Hertha BSC – as well as the subsequent Club World Cup in Qatar. As is well known, a trophy is presented there, with which FC Bayern would like to enrich its showcase. Munich will play their first game in the semi-finals on February 8th as Champions League winners at the tournament in Qatar.
Flick did not reveal details about the team against Hoffenheim, but noted that David Alaba and Jérôme Boateng were “set” in central defense after two games without conceding a goal. And that Alphonso Davies could be preferred to Lucas Hernández as a left-back. Hernández has just had a wisdom tooth extracted. Of course, Flick did not inform about this bad tooth until after the corona infection.
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